New Heritage Doll Company

Where do you work and what kind of impact does your job or business has on you? For me, I previously owned a pawn shop in Albany. In this frenzied business there is someone always trying to sell you something. You have to work quickly and efficiently, because the environment is very fast paced. You need a few employees to maintain the flow of traffic coming into your business. You have to log down every transaction with each customer you do business with, This in itself takes up a big part of the day. I employed someone just to fill out the paperwork that goes to the police department twice a week.

As I think about the sounds of business, redundancy comes to mind. If you sit back and listen you would here tapping of a keyboard or clicking of a mouse almost throughout every point of the day. There is always someone bringing something in to sell so you’re constantly on the computer looking up a price. You would have to work quickly, due to the amount of customers waiting to be seen. There was rarely a time when you could sit around. When I would get a second, I would take the time to do something constructive. This brings me to a humming sound that would fill the room. It was me vacuuming the floor with a track star like trot to beat the next rush of customers coming into the store. Another sound I can recall would be an annoyed grunt, or a disgusted moan, because the owner of the item was not happy with the price given for their item. In this business, which is to make a profit the customer is usually not happy with the twenty-five percent price we offer them. The customer does not understand that we cannot sell the product for what it sells for in the store. Hence the price we offer, is more than fair.

Their was a distinct smell to my store usually. The sprinkle of carpet fresh and misty sprays of Lysol put a countryside smell to the store. You want to create a warm and comfortable environment for the customer, even though they are in the store for a short period of time. Occasionally a skunkish aroma would tickle my nostrils from the local drunk or crackhead entering the store. Due to the rampant rush of customers the terrible stench would linger around the store for most of the day. Some days I would be so tied up that I would not notice the smell until another customer brought it to my attention.

In conclusion I want to reiterate that my store was very hectic. Some days lunch breaks were out of the question for staff. I remember eating my lunch while helping a customer because I was feeling faint. This business can be very lucrative but at the same time very stressful. You have to decide if the money is worth the stress and the constant activity.